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THE NAME is awful and the artificial flowers and fish tank quite disconcerting, but fundamentally the E3 Belfast MET building at Springvale is a gamechanger for the city. Ducking the squalls this week, I joined Patricia Flanagan to view the spanking new facility on the Springfield Road peaceline. 20 years ago, there were promises – ultimately unfulfilled – to locate a university at this site in a dramatic move which would have turbo-charged the faltering economy of North/West Belfast

I ALWAYS allow myself a little holiday in the heart when I attend an Irish language event in the Dome of Delight — as I did on Tuesday evening. That’s partly because I was thrown out after ten minutes of my first-ever meeting in City Hall back in the eighties because I spoke Erse, and that’s partly because it’s a thrill to witness the strength and vibrancy of today’s Irish language movement.